Method of manufacturing number plates



Dec. 23, 1952 F. B. RINCK ETAL METHOD OF MANUFACTURING NUMBER PLATES 2SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed June 10, 1948 INVENTORS' F B. R/A/c/r E. A. WILLIAMS Dec. 23, 1952 F. B. RINCK ET AL METHOD OF MANUFACTURING NUMBERPLATES 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Filed June 10, 1948 INVENTORS /-T B. R/A/c/K E.K. VV/LZ/AMS alllrial'i ATTORA FV Patented Dec. 23, 1952 UNITED STATESTENT OFFICE METHOD OF MANUFACTURING NUMBER PLATES Application June 10,1948, Serial No. 32,104

9 Claims.

This invention relates to a, method of manufacturing indicia bearingmembers and more particularly to a method of making number plates foruse with, dial type telephones.

t is an, object of the invention to provide a simple and effectivemethod of making indicia bearing members.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a telephone numberplate with number and other indicia defining recesses formed on the rearface thereof is molded from transparent plastic material. A largeportion of the area of the rear face of the plate outside of the indiciadefining recesses and extending up to the edges thereof is coated. witha material of one color applied with an inking type of stamp to form abackground color, after which a mask is applied to the rear face of theplate, exposing the recesses and relatively small areas of the coatedrear face around the recesses, and a coating of another color is sprayedor otherwise applied to re recesses and the exposed coated surfacessurrounding them, after which the mask is removed and the entire rearface of the plate is sprayed or otherwise coated with a material of thebackground color.

In another embodiment of the invention, the molded transparent telephonenumber plate, having the indicia defining recesses formed on the rearface thereof, is coated over the entire area of the rear face outside ofthe recesses and extending up to the edges thereof by rolling a coatingof material of one color thereon and then spraying or otherwise applyinga coating of another color into the recesses and to the coated surfacesadjacent thereto.

Other features and objects of the invention will be apparent byreference to the following detailed description thereof and theaccompanying drawings illustrating several embodiments of the inventionin which:

Fig. 1 is a front face view of the molded number plate;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view through the molded number plate,indicated as taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing the plate invertedand before any coating materials have been applied thereto;

Fig. 3 is an elevational-sectional view of a printing die or stampingmember used for applying the initial background coating material to theplate;

Fig. 4 is a rear face view of the number plate showing a masking plateplaced thereon with portions of the masking plate brokenaway;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view indicated as taken onthe line 5-5 of Fig. l and showing the plate before any coatingmaterials have been applied thereto;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing 1e number plate after thefirst or background coating has been applied to portions of the rearface of the plate;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 showing a masking disc applied to theplate;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 6 showing a coating of another colorapplied to the recesses of the plate through apertures in the maskingdisc;

Fig. 5-) is a view similar to Fig. 8 showing the plate with the finalcoating applied thereto;

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. '7 showing a different form of maskapplied to the plate;

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 10 showing the mask removed from theplate and the final coating applied thereto;

Fig. 12 is a diagrammatic sectional view of another embodiment of dialconstruction and a roller method of applying a background coating to therear surface thereof; and

Fig. 13 is an enlarged sectional view similar to Fig. 12 showing thedial with a coating applied to the indicia defining recesses therein,

Referring to the drawings (Fig. 1), the telephone number plate l5selected to illustrate one embodiment of the inventon is molded fromsuitable plastic material by any well-known method of molding to form atransparent memher. The number plate I5 has an annular dished or conicalshaped front wall ll having a smooth front face and having indiciadefining recesses iii formed in the rear face thereof. The recesses i9define a series of numbers from 1 to 9 and 0 and a plurality of lettersgrouped around some of the number defining recesses, as shown in Figs. 1and l. The side walls of the recesses i9 may be straight or curved andjoin with the rear surface of the plate to form sharp corner edges ofthe indicia defining recesses. A marginal cylindrical wall 2| extendsfrom the rear surface of the plate and is provided with an out.- wardlyextending flange 22. Circular reinforcing ribs 24 and 25 are also formedon opposite sides, respectively, of the plate.

In order to have the indicia easily seen through the front face of theplate, it is desirable to provide the surfaces of the indicia definingrecesses and the rear surface of the plate, respectively, withcontrasting appearances and this is accomplished by applying to the rearsurface of the plate a background coating of one color and applying tothe indicia defining recesses a coating of another color. With theconstruction of the dial illustrated in Figs. 1 to 9, the methodconsists in coating large areas of the rear face of the dial outside ofand adjacent the recesses I9 to provide the background color for theareas surrounding the recesses, then applying a coating of a differentcolor to the recesses, after which the entire rear face of the plate iscovered with a coating of the background color.

The background coating may be applied to portions of the rear face ofthe plate I by a printing or transfer process employing a stamp or die35. The stamp 35, which may be formed of relatively hard rubber or othersuitable material, is cylindrical and has an annular conical bottomsurface 31 shaped to conform to a portion of the rear surface of theplate I5. A coating of printing ink or paint or other composition,preferably of black color and quick drying, may be applied to the lowersurface 31 of the stamp 35 by engaging it with a compositioncontainingstamp pad or by rolling the composition thereon, as is usual in theprinting art, and then the stamp 35 may be moved into engagement withthe rear surface of the plate to transfer the coating 30 onto the plate.The coating 30 does not come in contact with the walls of the recessesI9 and adheres only to portions of the rear face of the plate, asindicated in Fig. 6, and extends to the edges of the indicia definingrecesses I9 and maintains a sharp outline thereof. After the backgroundcoating 30 has dried, the walls of the recesses I!) may have applied tothem a coating 3| of a contrasting color, as, for example, white, as bybeing brushed or sprayed thereon.

The coating 3| is preferably sprayed into the recesses I9 throughapertures in a mask 40 covering the rear face of the plate. The mask 46,which is made of metal or other suitable material, is shaped to conformgenerally to the rear face of the plate and is provided with apertures42, which are adapted to uncover predetermined areas of the plate whenthe mask is applied thereto. If desired, the apertures 42 may beconnected together to form a continuous aperture exposing all of therecesses and the mask may be properly aligned with the plate in anysuitable way. With the mask in position on the plate, as shown in Fig.4, the entire rear face of the plate is covered except for the indiciadefining recesses I9 and adjacent areas surrounding the recesses whichare accessible through the apertures 42. The coatmg of paint or othercomposition 3|, having a color different from that of the coating 30, issprayed or otherwise applied to the recesses I9 and the coated surfacesof the plate accessible through the apertures 42. The mask 40 is thenremoved and the entire surface of the rear face of the plate is sprayedor otherwise covered with a coating 32 of the same color as thebackground coating 30.

Instead of following the sequence of steps as described above, thesequence may be varied as illustrated in Figs. and 11. After the firstportion of the background coating is applied to the plate I5, a mask 50(Fig. 10) may be placed on the rear face of the plate I5 to cover therecesses I9 and the adjoining portions of the coated rear face of theplate and a background coating 5| applied to the remainder of theuncovered background surface of the rear face of the plate, after whichthe mask 50 may be re- 4 moved and a coating 52 of another color maythen be applied to the walls of the recesses I9.

By first applying the background coating 30 to the plate, indiciadefining apertures are formed therein which are sharp and definite andregister exactly with the indicia defining recesses ID in the plate I5.This is important, especially in small isolated or island areas as, forexample, island areas within the numbers such as 8, 9 and 0, et cetera,and the letters a, b, (1, et cetera. Thus, by applying the backgroundcoating first in the manner described, a definite and sharp outline ofthe indicia is obtained so that when the contrasting coating 31 isapplied to the walls of the indicia recesses, the outline of the indiciaas viewed from the front of the plate will be regular and. sharp andconform exactly in outline to the recesses I9.

In number plates where there are no obstructing marginal walls, thebackground coating may be applied by rolling it on with a roller, asindicated diagrammatically in Fig. 12. In this embodiment, a plate,indicated diagrammatically at H5, is provided with indicia definingrecesses I I9 extending inwardly from the rear face thereof. Thebackground coating I30 of one color may be applied to the rear face ofthe plate H5 by the roller applicator I35 or by a stamp pad, aspreviously described. The roller I35 may have a layer of coatingcompound applied thereto in the usual andwell-known manner, as, forexample, by rolling it over a fiat surface containing the coatingcompound or placing it in engagement with compound distributing rolls,after which the roller I35 is rolled across the rear surface of theplate H5 to transfer the compound from the roller onto the plate andform a background coating I30 of colored material thereon. When thecoating I30 has dried, a coating of material I3I of a contrasting coloris sprayed or otherwise applied to the walls of the indicia defininrecesses I I9 and portions of the coated rear face of the plate adjacentthe recesses H9.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that a transparent number platehaving the indicia of one color set off from a background of acontrasting color may be readily formed from a transparent molded memberor plate having indicia defining recesses on the rear face thereof byapplying with a roller or stamp a background coating of material to allof the area of the rear face of the plate outside of the indiciadefining recesses and extending up to the edges thereof and thenspraying or otherwise applying a coating of different colored materialto the walls of the indicia defining recesses. If the rear face of theplate is of such a nature that the entire rear surface except for theindicia defining recesses cannot be covered in one operation, areas ofthe rear face of the plate adjacent to and surrounding the indiciadefining recesses may have the background coating applied theretofollowed by either the application of the contrasting coating materialto the recesses and adjacent coated portions of the rear face of theplate and then the application of the background coating to theremainder of the rear face of the plate, or the application of thebackground coating to the remainder of the rear face of the plateoutside of the recesses and then the application of the contrastingcolored coating to the walls of the recesses.

It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are simplyillustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Nu-

merous l. o'ther arrangements may 1 be J readily devised bythose-skilled .in the .-;art whichelwill embody the. principles :of theinvention .andtfall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed :is:

'1. Ina .method of .making an indicia bearing article fromatransparent.plastic:member having a relatively small indicia. definingrecess formed in the rearfacmthereof the steps of applying a coating of.a. composition of .onecolor onto the relatively. hard surface of.saitransfer member, moving .the transfer member. into contact with theraised portions of the rear face of said article landoverthe. recess toengage the coating. of .saidcomposition thereon withzthe raised.portions only of therear :faceof. the articlesurrounding the recess andremovingssaid transfer member from said article to cause a portion ofthecoatingof said composition to adhere. to and. coatthe raised:portions only of the rear face .of the -article surrounding :.therecesses and extending to "the edges thereof solely bycontact.yvithsaidmaised portions .to clearlydefinei the recess,.dryingthe coating'on the .article,..and applying acoatingof a composition ofanother color to the walls of said recess and portions of the coatedsurfaces adjacent thereto.

.2. A.method of making a. numberv plate'from a transparent plasticmember. having relatively small indicia .defini-ngrecesses formed in therear face thereof which comprises applying a coatingof. a composition ofone color onto the relatively hard surface of a transfer roller, rollingthe coating of said composition on the roller into engagement'with theraised portions of the rear face of the number plate and over therecesses to cause a portion of said composition applied to the roller toadhere to and coat only the raised portions of the rear face of saidnumber plate to the edges of the recesses to clearly define saidrecessesdryingthe coating on the number plate, and applying a coating ofa composition of another color onto the walls of said recesses andportions of thecoated surfaces adjacent said recesses.

3. A method of making a number plat from a transparent plastic memberhaving relatively small indicia defining recesses formed in the rearface thereof which comprises applying a coating of printing compositionof one color onto the relatively hard surface of a transfer member,moving the transfer member into contact with the raised portions of therear face of the number plate to engage the coating of printingcomposition thereon with the raised portions only of the rear face ofthe number plate and then removing the transfer member to cause aportion of the coating of printing composition applied thereto to adhereto and form a coating on only the raised portions of the rear face ofsaid number plate and extending to the edges of the recesses to clearlydefine said recesses, drying said coating of printing composition onsaid number plate, and applying a coating composition of another coloronto the walls of said recesses and portions of the coated surfacesadjacent said recesses.

4:. A method of making an indicia bearing article from a transparentplastic plate having relatively small indicia forming recesses formed inthe rear face thereof which comprises applying a coating of acomposition of one color onto the relatively hard surface of a transfermember, moving the transfer member into en- .gagement rwith portions...of. the raised surface ofLthemre'ar.face .1of thearticle and over therecesses-to engage .the coating composition tl1ere- .on withportions ofonly the raised surface of therear face of the article surrounding therecesses and extending .to the edges thereof, removingsaidtransfermember from said article to causela portion of the coatingcomposition toadhere to. and coat only said portions of the raisedsurfaceof the vrearface of the article surrounding the'recesses andextending to the edges thereof toclearly define said recesses, dryingthe coatingcomposition of said one color on said article, maskingsubstantially all of the rear faceof the article except the recesses andportions of .the coated raised surface adjacent thereto, applying .acoating composition of another color to .the recesses and the unmaskedportions of thescoated surface adjacent thereto, unmaskingthearticledrying the coating compositionhapplied to .the article, andapplying a coatingcomposition of said one color to the uncoated portionof the rear .face of the article and to portions of the coated surfacesthereof.

7 5. A methodof making a number plate from a transparent plastic memberhaving relatively small indicia defining recesses formed in the rearface thereof which-comprises applying a coating of printing compositionof one color to the relatively hard surface of a transfer member, movingthe'transfer member into contact with portions of the raised surface ofthe rear face of the plate to engage the coating of the printingcomposition thereon with portions of the raised surface of the rearfaceofthe number plate With portions of the coating on the transfer membersurrounding and extending across the recesses, removing the transfermember to cause a portion of the coating of printing composition appliedthereto to adhere to and coat only said portions of the raised surfacesof the rear face of said number plate with the coating surrounding therecesses and extending to the edges thereof to clearly define saidrecesses, drying said coating of 'printing composition on said numberplate,

a transparent plastic member having relatively small indicia definingrecesses formed in the rear face thereof which comprises applying acoating composition of one color onto the relatively hard surface of atransfer member, moving the transfer member into contact with portionsof the raised surface of the rear face of said article to engage thecoating composition thereon with the portions of the raised surface ofthe rear face of the article surrounding the recesses and extending tothe edges thereof and removing said transfer member from said article tocause a portion of the coating composition to adhere to and coat onlysaid portions of the raised surface of the rear face of the articlesurrounding the recesses and extending to the edges thereof to clearlydefine said recesses, drying said coating on said plate, masking saidrecesses and portions of the coated surfaces adjacent thereto, applyinga coating acaaeoo composition of said one color to the unmasked portionof the rear face of the plate, unmasking the plate, drying the lattercoating composition, and applying a coating composition of another colorto the walls of said recesses and the coated surfaces adjacent thereto.

7. A method of making an indicia bearing article from a transparentplastic member hav-- ing relatively small indicia defining recessesformed in the rear face thereof which comprises applying a coatingcomposition of one color to the relatively hard surface of a transfermember, moving the transfer member into contact with the rear face ofthe article to engage the coating thereon with portions of the raisedsurface of the rear face of the article and with portions of th coatingon the transfer member surrounding and extending across the recesses,removing the transfer member to cause a portion of the coat ingcomposition applied thereto to adhere to and coat only said portions ofthe raised surface of the rear face of the article surrounding therecesses and extending to the edges thereof to clearly define therecesses, drying the coating on said article, masking the recesses andportions of the coated surfaces adjacent thereto, spraying a coating ofsaid composition of one color onto the unmasked portion of the raisedsurface of the rear face of said article, unmasking the article, dryingsaid latter coating, and spraying a coating composition of another colorto the surfaces of said recesses and the coated surfaces adjacentthereto.

8. A method of making a number plate from a transparent plastic memberhaving indicia, defining recesses formed in the rear face thereof whichcomprises applying a coating composition of one color onto therelatively hard surface of a transfer roller, rolling the transferroller onto predetermined areas of the raised surface of the rear faceof the plate surrounding said recesses and extending to the edgesthereof to cause a portion of the coating composition applied to theroller to adhere to and coat said predetermined areas of the raisedsurface on the rear face of the number plate with the coatingsurrounding th recesses and extending to the edges thereof for clearlydefining the recesses, drying the coating composition on said numberplate, masking substantially all of the plate except the recesses andportions of the coated surfaces adjacent thereto, applying a coatingcomposition of another color to the surfaces of the recesses andportions of the coated surfaces adjacent thereto, unmasking the plate,drying the coating composition applied to the recesses, and applying acoating composition of said one color to the uncoated portions of therear face of the plate and to portions of the coated surfaces thereof.

9. A method of making a number plate from a transparent plastic memberhaving relatively small indicia defining recesses formed in the rearface thereof which comprises applying a coating composition of one coloronto the relatively hard surface of a transfer roller, rolling thetransfer roller over predetermined areas of the raised portions of therear face of the number plate surrounding the recesses and over therecesses to cause a portion of the coating composition applied to theroller to adhere to and coat only said predetermined areas of the raisedportions of the rear face of said number plate with the coatingsurrounding the recesses and extending to the edges thereof for clearlydefining said recesses, drying the coating on said number plate, maskingthe recesses and portions of the coated areas of the rear face of thenumber plate adjacent the recesses, applying a coating composition ofsaid one color to the unmasked portion of the rear face of the numberplate, unmasking the article, drying the latter coating of said onecolor on said plate, and applying a coating composition of another colorto the surfaces of said recesses and the coated surfaces adjacentthereto.

FRANKLIN B. RINCK. EDWIN K. WILLIAMS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,605,570 Smith Nov. 2, 19261,800,146 Leary Apr. 7, 1931 1,904,289 Neidich et al. Apr. 18, 19332,240,900 Bauer May 6, 1941 2,294,865 Frankenthal et a1. Sept. 1, 19422,376,305 Bauer May 15, 1945 OTHER REFERENCES Electrical InsulatingMaterials, Mica Insulator Co., Schenectady, N, Y., 1944, page 49.

2. A METHOD OF MAKING A NUMBER PLATE FROM A TRANSPARENT PLASTIC MEMBERHAVING RELATIVELY SMALL INDICIA DEFINING RECESSES FORMED IN THE REARFACE THEREOF WHICH COMPRISES APPLYING A COATING OF A COMPOSITION OF ONECOLOR ONTO THE RELATIVELY HARD SURFACE OF A TRANSFER ROLLER, ROLLING THECOATING OF SAID COMPOSITION ON THE ROLLER INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH THERAISED PORTIONS OF THE REAR FACE OF THE NUMBER PLATE AND OVER THERECESSES TO CAUSE A PORTION OF SAID COMPOSITION APPLIED TO THE ROLLER TOADHERE TO AND COAT ONLY THE RAISED PORTIONS OF THE REAR FACE OF SAIDNUM-